Mandela was able to finish his degree and qualified as a Lawyer.
Mandela was instrumental in pushing the ANC into more direct action such as the 1952 Defiance Campaign and later acts of sabotage.
1952 Mandela and Tambo opened the first Black Law firm in South Africa.
However in 1960 the Sharpeville massacre of 63 black South African’s changed the whole political climate.
South Africa was increasingly isolated on the international scene and the government banned the ANC. This led Mandela to advocate armed struggle through the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK).
However by 1962 Mandela had been arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment in the notorious Robben Island prison.
He helped to keep other Men’s spirits high and never compromised his political principles when offered earlt release.
Although negotiations were painfully slow and difficult, they eventually led to Mandela’s release in 1990.
However on 10 May 1994 Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the first democratically elected State President of South Africa on and was President until June 1999
Since retiring from office Nelson Mandela has continued to be an international figure of great stature. He is one of the few politicians who have gone beyond a political role; he is widely admired and has received many prestigious awards.
In 1993 Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prizejointly with F.W. De Klerk
